Cuz John arrived on Nov. 14 and after a small weather wave passed, we thought we’d be heading north to St. Lucia. Yet, as fate would have it, the AC began acting up right when he arrived. So we spent a week trying to get it fixed. It turned out the expansion valve was caput. We were told that they were made in Germany and were totally unavailable at this time! So, with Tevin, Grenada AC guy, and Tim from the Webasto dealer’s help, we found a work around. The crummy thing was that by the time the part would become available our new unit would be out of warranty and according to Webasto there was no rain check. This seemed a little flawed to me!
Meanwhile, since we were held captive by the broken AC, we took John around to a few of our favorite eateries and sights in Grenada. Sails Restaurant and Bar on the Carnage is one of our favorite places. While you could use their dinghy dock, we decided to take a taxi to dinner as were dressed up for date night, and Amy and Doug were joining us.
We also took John on the beautiful drive to Concord Falls. I never get tired of this drive up the west coast through the mountains and jungle. The falls were super nice and refreshing.
We also took him across to the east and south side of the island. There we passed a bar named after the bumpy street! Haha!
Finally, the AC was fixed to an acceptable level, and we began to plan our escape. Our next weather window appeared to be Thanksgiving Day. So we decided to have a Thanksgiving Eve meal with Doug and Amy. We had a picnic ham, potato salad, Mexican corn, asparagus and, apple pie and ice cream for dessert. It might not have included the most traditional of Thanksgiving foods, but it was a feast nevertheless!
It was going to be super sad leaving my walking partners behind, Amy and Crewey, but at least I know we will probably see them on the water somewhere, and if nothing else, back here in Grenada next summer. I have so enjoyed our time together this hurricane season!
Time to Blast Off!!
The day had finally arrived! On November 24 at 1000, we untethered ourselves from the dock and headed out for the 2022-23 Cruising Season! With Amy and Doug’s assistance, we left Port Louis Marina and Grenada behind despite the rainy conditions.
Soon, the rain dissipated, and we enjoyed a nice relaxing motor sail to the north end of Grenada. As we entered the channel between Grenada and Carriacou, the wind and waves picked up as expected, but the wind did not go east as we thought it would. Thus, we were traveling into waves and wind as well as against current. Our speed slowed to 4 knots as we passed through the sisters.
Nevertheless, we arrived in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou around 1630. We found a lovely spot to anchor and watched a beautiful sunset before eating leftovers for dinner. Awe, it was nice to be back on the water again!
Friday, November 25, 2022
Since we had some sunshine today, we decided to go to Sandy Island for a snorkel and on to Tim’s Sunset Beach Bar for dinner after the guys checked us out of the country of Grenada. Customs would allow us 24 hours to play before heading off the to Grenadines.
However, our lovely plans got a little derailed. First immigration and customs took an inordinate amount of time as someone didn’t show up for work today. So Ben and John had to go to two places to check out, and there were long lines at both places. Then, as they went to pull anchor, the starboard engine would not start! Now what???
It looked like our MDI box was defunct! Luckily Ben knew that this could happen one day and had done his homework on how to hotwire the starter. Thus, the guys got to work and rigged the starter! Yay! The fixit men had done it again!
Since we got a much later start then expected we just motored our way to Anse La Roche Bay where we had made plans to eat dinner at Tim’s Sunset Beach Bar. As we entered the beautiful bay it was 1630 and the light was fading, but we all decided to take a quick snorkel anyway to cool off and John wanted to try out his new mask.
After transom showers, we put on dry swimsuits and jumped into the dinghy to head to the beach for dinner. The sunset was amazing, and the breeze was wonderful!
We were not disappointed in our dinner of BBQed lobster, snapper, chicken, as well as rice, potatoes, and salad! The beach ambiance with tikki torches and other cruisers from around the world enhanced the experience.
Saturday, November 26, 2022
We left Carriacou at 0800 and made the short hop over to the Union Island in the Grenadines. We found the same anchor spot available that we used last time when we checked out. The guys went ashore to immigrations and customs and to buy some lettuce, tomatoes, and yummy homemade banana bread!
And So It Begins
We were leaving behind Grenada, our six month home, and moseying our way north through the island chain to Antigua. Stay tuned as the adventure continues!
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